MH370 families file suits at 11th hour

KUALA LUMPUR: The families of 12 passengers aboard missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 filed suits against the airline yesterday before a two- year deadline for legal action expires.

MH370 disappeared en route to Beijing on March 8, 2014, with 239 passengers and crew on board.

A number of suits have been filed in US, Australian, Chinese and Malaysian courts in the past few weeks and more are expected as the deadline approaches on Tuesday.

Family members of two Ukrainian passengers filed suits in the Malaysian High Court against Malaysia Airlines. The families of a Russian, a Chinese and eight Malaysian passengers are suing the Malaysian government, the airline, the Civil Aviation Department director-general and the Malaysian air force.

Sangeet Kaur Deo, a lawyer for the Russian, Chinese and Malaysian families, said they were seeking unspecified damages for negligence, breach of contract and breach of statutory duty. She said even though the plane had not been found, the passengers and crew were presumed to be dead.

A wing part recovered from Reunion last year is the only debris from MH370 that has been found, but it offers little clues over what happened to the plane. This week, a piece of debris found off the southeast African coast was sent to Australia for testing.

The family suits have also named Malaysia Airlines’ insurance provider, Allianz, and Boeing, the aircraft’s manufacturer, as potential defendants. – Reuters